What Does Proverbs 30:31 Mean in the King James?
A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The king’s authority is pictured as a standing so complete that no one rises to challenge his place.
THE MEANING
You see the greyhound, the he-goat, and the king as figures of assured movement. The king’s authority appears in its effect: no one rises to contest his place, so rule is felt as a presence before it is an act.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Authority does not have to be loud or continually defended to be real. Here, its force is visible in the absence of anyone rising against it.
THE ROOT
קוּם
qum
GROWS FROM
קום
To rise, stand, or be established.
“rising up” in this verse is qum. The same root can describe a person standing, an authority being set up, or someone rising again after a fall. The verse’s force comes from the movement that does not happen: no one rises against the king.
ALSO GROWS
qām: He rose or stood.
קָם
This is the direct movement named in the verse’s image of no one rising against the king.
hēqîm: He raised up or established.
הֵקִים
The same root can describe authority being established, linking the king’s position with the idea of standing firm.
māqôm: Place.
מָקוֹם
A place is where someone stands; the king’s unchallenged position gives the image its weight.
מֶלֶךְ
melek
GROWS FROM
מלך
To reign or rule.
The word for king belongs to the same root as the verb for reigning. Kingship is therefore more than a title here: it is active rule made visible in a presence no one challenges.
ALSO GROWS
mālaḵ: To reign or become king.
מָלַךְ
The verb shows the active rule held within the noun king.
mamlāḵāh: Kingdom or reign.
מַמְלָכָה
The kingdom is the wider expression of the same rule embodied by the king.
THE PATTERN
Recognized authority is visible when movement respects its place and answers its command.
A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.THE THREAD
For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.The Hebrew word translated “riseth up” comes from the same root, קוּם (qum), as “rising up” in this verse. The root itself simply names the movement into standing; here no one rises against the king, while there the just person rises again after falling.
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